It’s been couple decades since I went through a college journalism program and several years since I worked at a newspaper, radio station or television station. For most people now, the Internet is their primary or sole source of information. Some people have subscriptions to verified news outlets of record, but many just get a sense of what is going on in the world from what comes across on their social media feeds.
Here are seven things I have gathered from the Information Literacy course that I just taught that everyone can probably appreciate in their day-to-day lives.
- Everyone gets a different version of the Internet. Google uses location, previous activities and advertiser sponsorship to rank information.
- Social media feeds use your reaction and interaction to feed you more content likely to keep you interacting.
- Your clicks are sold to the highest bidder. Advertisers pay for access to your feeds and search results.
- The Internet is becoming more segregated. People pick their own tribes, political and social circles. There is a lot that you don’t see that others are looking at. It’s always helpful to step out of your content bubble.
- Quality content usually costs money, if you don’t want to pay, then you get whatever advertisers chose to sponsor. Accepting free content usually means sacrificing some privacy.
- There is a lot of falsified content moving around, and taking a minute to verify before retweeting or sharing is a wise practice.
- There are huge opportunities available for those who want to make quality content. Instead of bemoaning the bad, become a force for good.
